DISTRIBUTION:

Sphingicampa xanthina or Syssphinx xanthina (wingspan: males: 58(ESs)-60-64mm; females:72mm) flies in
Guatemala: Ciudad de Guatemala, Baja Verapaz, and Alta Verapaz, and in
Nicaragua: Jinotega (JMM).

The forewing ground colour is yellow with more olve brown in xanthina than in paraxanthina.

The image at the top of this page from Nicaragua is more likely Syssphinx paraxanthina due to great preponderance of yellow and reduced amounts of olive green. There seems to be very little to distinguish between xanthina and paraxanthina.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Syssphinx xanthina moths are on the wing in August.

Larval hosts are unknown.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Syssphinx xanthina moths probably eclose in the evening with scenting and mating occuring the same night between 10:00 pm and 2:00 am.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Syssphinx xanthina moth females deposit light green eggs either singly or in short rows on hostplant foliage. Eggs are translucent and caterpillar development can be seen through the eggshell. Warm weather results in a very short incubation time of five days. Larvae mature at various rates and have the enlarged thoracic scoli typical of Syssphinx. Silver, metallic markings reflect light at night. Pupation is in a subterranean chamber with eclosions following in as little as two weeks.

Larval Food Plants

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

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The pronunciation of scientific names is troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is merely a suggestion. It is based on commonly accepted English pronunciation of Greek names and/or some fairly well accepted "rules" for latinized scientific names.

The suggested pronunciations, on this page and on other pages, are primarily put forward to assist those who hear with internal ears as they read.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

The genus name "Syssphinx" was probably chosen for the similarity of these moths (wing shape and resting position) to moths in the Sphingidae family.

The species name "xanthina" is indicative of the yellow ground colour of the forewing.